All About Queries to VKA

Before you send us a query, it is well worth your time to read the
following content carefully. Following the guidance here will reduce the
odds that your query ends up being rejected. Details on when and how to
actually submit your query are found at the bottom of this page.

Briefly: What we're looking for in a query

First thing: You're going to send your query to the very people you want
to look at, and be impressed with, your manuscript. The people you are
trying to convince to pitch it to the actual publishing industry on your
behalf. The people who routinely see the very best from some pretty
amazing authors. That's exactly who we are and what we do. We represent
amazing authors. In fact, we only represent amazing authors.

So. What you need to do is prepare your query letter with at
least as much care and skill as you put into your magnum opus. Pay
just as much attention to the grammar, spelling, pacing and so on in
your query.

When submitted by post, the query letter is written on its own page or
pages, and should be on the very top of the rest of the content. When
submitting by email, the query letter must be in the body of the
email: it must not be contained within an attachment, or the
query will be discarded. In both cases, make sure you provide an
email address where we can contact you.

Next, don't go long. Make it one page-ish. Within that constraint, use
your writing skills to get the following across to us:

A brief synopsis of the plot of the work

The length of the work in words

What genre you believe the work falls into

Any publications of yours that are not self-publications

Any other writing experience

Samples of published author's names you feel write in a style similar to yours

Any related workshops you have attended, etc.

Any publicity venues worthy of note, such as an author's web site

Any awards you have won

Any significant endorsements you have collected

Any co-authors, current or past, we may be familiar with

How we can email you without ending up in a "spam" folder

Attach (email submissions) or include (postal submissions) a sample of your work as detailed below

Further, you need to work the above list in such a way as to seriously
impress us within the context of the query itself. Every word in your query
matters, as does its structure and content.

Some things to avoid in the query letter itself:

Don't use tiny fonts — if it's not readable, it won't be read

Don't use colored fonts — use all black on white, all the time

Don't go wide — use normal page widths or natural wrap only

Dictation, grammar- and spell-checking software can all introduce
problems. Spell-checking software does not pick up errors when those
errors are the wrong word, spelled correctly. It is also far too easy to
select the wrong word to replace a word the spell-checking
software has highlighted for you. Your intention is, of course, to type
or dictate the correct word, but — particularly in the case of
dictation software — if a homonym is available, it can end up in
your manuscript.

Queries and submissions should not be sent out to an agency or an editor
without a thorough reading, not only by yourself but (at least) a first
reader and even better, a second reader as well.

Next, for all email submissions provide just a few pages of the work
you are asking us to represent as an attachment. For postal
submissions, include the same as hard copy. They don't have to be the
first pages, either. Something you think will catch our interest.
Attachments should ideally be in plain text form. Send this to us with
the query; don't wait for us to ask. If your query is well written and
your subject matter interesting, we will look at the attachment
or printout, and what we find there will most definitely count towards
whether we develop an interest in your work, or not.

When you submit, you need to understand that we get a lot of queries. A
lot. This means that there exists a long line of hopefuls ahead
of you who got their work to us first. The only way we can really be
fair is to examine each submission in the same order it came to our
attention. So be patient. Craft your query with as much loving care as
you can muster, send it along, and then... find something else to do and
try to forget you sent it. If your work is really good, you may be
assured you will hear from us, as we'll be wanting to see the whole
thing. Which will then call for another period of patience.

Finally, when we reject a query, you'll hear from us: we'll send an
email. If you submit and don't get a reply within just a few business
days, that means we didn't reject your query based on the query letter
itself. At this point, the actual material submitted will (eventually)
be read. Most queries don't get this far; so lack of an immediate reply
is itself a bit of good news.

Hopefully you're getting a feeling for the process now. Nearly every
step for a work that is destined to go forward typically involves
waiting — and then waiting some more. Waiting for the query
process to produce results, working through any changes required,
waiting for submissions to publishers, waiting for actual publication,
and then waiting for the book to earn.

We wish you the best of luck.

Querying the Virginia Kidd Agency

Queries are closed from November 15th through January 15th. Queries submitted during this period will
not be accepted.